Forever is a Slow Dream
by MorgansGurl
Summary: She was the very light in his world, his everything. He misses her every day. He is so lost without her. They didn't have enough time together, how ironic when he has forever. No matter how hard he tries to forget, that memory is burned into his thoughts and he relives it every day. Forever is a long time to live with such grief and pain. (AU)(Character Death)


Disclaimer: I own nothing Vampire Diaries or The Originals related.

Warnings: Sad Ficlet, Extreme Alternate Universe, Character Death. (also unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine and mine alone).

Pairing: Elijah M./Hayley M.

A/N: I was inspired to write this while listening to `Sara Jackson-Holman – Freight Train`, this fic is not a songfic, but the song sets the entire mood for this fic and I highly recommend anyone planning on reading this to listen to it first if able. The song is like a fine wine and the story like hearty Italian pasta, they complement each other and one is not entirely complete without the other.

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She couldn't breathe, her chest felt too tight and constricted, as if the confines of her own skin were suffocating her. Blinking a few times, she realized that the world was turning a little blurry around the edges and she couldn't help the hint of the sarcastic smile that played at her lips. It felt strangely cold outside, so cold a heavy chill ran down her spine.

_Elijah had found her there, lying on the hard ground of the New Orleans square; she was surrounded by a pool of crimson that had stilled his heart with fear. Her eyes were glossed over with a glassy sheen and he realized she wasn't reacting to the commotion that was exploding around her. His throat became painfully dry as he rushed his way to her prone form. _

Haley strained to hear what sounded like, like war. It was muffled and far away from her. There was the faint sound of screams, and if she listened hard enough she could hear the clashing of metal. Closing her eyes she tried to take in another breath but the effort created a painful reaction that blossomed through her body, she was rewarded for her efforts with the smell of smoke.

_The town was ablaze, buildings lighting up the night sky, plumes of smoke suffocating the light of the stars as they went up in flames around them. The war was particularly nasty once it broke out. Vampires fighting vampires fighting witches fighting werewolves. All the alliances were so convoluted that even those that were supposed to be allies were turning on each other. _

She could feel her body moving, and it wasn't of her will. The temptation to close her eyes was licking at her consciousness, her head lulling against a soft surface. It took every ounce of strength she had left to press her hand against the soft cotton of what felt like a suit jacket, she relaxed against the oddly familiar material.

_He carried her away from the carnage, cradling her like a babe in his arms. There were hot tears running down his face and he ignored everything else around them. When she nuzzled into him despite her dire condition he couldn't hold back the choked sob that strangled its way past his lips. It couldn't end like this – it couldn't end so soon. _

The world was spinning, she felt dizzy, like she had again drank too much against her better judgment. She was never good at judging her tolerance of alcohol nor did she stop or care much when she realized she had reached her limit. Maybe that was why she felt like she was floating, her body tingling in some places and feeling numb in others.

_Her reality was slipping away from her; the light in her beautiful eyes was dying with every passing second. Inwardly he raged against the injustice of it all. The only wish he ever had was to have his family united and whole, she had been a shining light in all his dreary history, she had been his hope and now there was nothing that could be done. _

Licking her cracked lips, she realized she felt empty. There was something she was missing, something important. If it was so important why couldn't she put her finger on it? The harder she tried to grasp at what it was the further it seemed from her reach.

_Even drenched in blood she was heavenly. Perhaps the most beautiful creature he had ever the pleasure to lay eyes on. It tore at his absent soul to see the deflated look of what was once a wonderfully swollen stomach of seven months. He had told her to stay put – but she was always so stubborn. _

She started to gasp heavily as blood trickled up her throat and out her mouth, that couldn't be good, she mused as she furrowed her brow in confusion. Worry. She had been worried. It wasn't for herself though, she could remember the consuming worry and concern but she couldn't place the reason.

_He cradled her in his lap, holding her tightly to his chest as they sat on a decades old bench. They were far from the screams of pain. It was comfortable here, safe here, beautiful even with the way the light of the stars danced off the water of the small lake, and the breeze played with the leaves of the trees in the park surrounding them. _

A thick heaviness started to settle in her heart, it was becoming harder to stay awake. She didn't want to sleep yet – something was nagging at her, warning her that if she went to sleep now that she would never wake up again. That was silly though, dreams were temporary.

_It was slowing now, the beating of her heart turning intermittent, it wouldn't be long. He kissed the crown of her head and smoothed her hair lovingly. They hadn't had enough time. She hadn't had enough time. He would have traded his life in exchange for hers if he could. It was breaking his heart watching her die but he couldn't leave her alone, not now, not ever. _

A brief whiff of cologne caught in her senses and it enveloped her in a calming cocoon. Elijah! She had been worried about Elijah. The memories meandered through her quickly fading mind. She had gone in search of him despite his order to stay put. She'd only wanted to make sure he was alright. What she couldn't remember was why she had been worried or why he had told her stay. He had to know how stubborn she was by now.

_"Oh my dear Hayley," he breathed, squeezing her gently. He should have never joined his brother in this foolish war, he should have never opened up his heart to this beautiful girl. Everything around him was tarnished by pain and suffering. No matter where he went nothing good ever seemed to happen. "I love you." He admitted as a defeated man. _

Words ghosted around her, `dear` and `love` echoed about her as her vision started to blacken at the edges and the chill turned into a burning icy cold. She knew that voice; it was his voice – why did he sound so sad?

_She shivered in his arms occasionally, if death had told him anything it was that it was cold. Lonely and cold. He wished he could have warmed her up, but he hadn't the body temperature to do so and it broke his heart to know she was suffering. It would be over soon._

"Love you." She murmured against his chest. There was no fighting it anymore, the demand was too strong. She had to go.

_The exhalation of her last breath broke him on the inside. Her heart had gone silent, and her body had stilled in his arms. It was done, she was gone. His beautiful, wonderful, amazing Hayley in all her stubborn, hard-headed, wise cracking glory was gone. _ _He held her until sunrise, and then the next sunrise, and the next._

_He held her until the feeling of his brothers hand on his shoulder broke his trance, taking her from him gently as he lost himself in the grief. They had won the war, but he had lost too much. He begged for the dagger to end his pain but it would never come. _

_His sister tried to console him, but eventually as the years went by she learned that her brother that she loved so was no more. That man had died the day his beloved had. Every day he cursed being an original, all he wanted to do was die and be with her, and he couldn't. It was the one thing he couldn't do. _

_The day he lost her was the day he lost himself._

_And he was never coming back. _

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To The Critics: Yes, I am aware that Elijah probably could have saved her with his blood and yada yada yada. However, this fic had a specific purpose and I was dead set (pun intended) on having her die. I thought there was beauty in this story the way it was written, and I also believe that Elijah would have never wanted to turn her into what he himself is. I don't directly come out and say it in the fic but Haley had her baby ripped from her stomach, and she was already so close to death when Elijah found her that she didn't even remember what had happened so in my reasoning even if he had fed her his blood she would have died anyway with his blood in her system and he couldn't risk the possible consequences of that.

If you didn't like it, I would also like to remind you that no one forced you to read it. I did warn that it was extreme AU with Character Death in the beginning.

**I enjoyed writing this, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it. Please take the time to review.**


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